We're so excited to partner with health and wellness expert Liz Moody on our latest flavor: Strawberry Black Pepper! Liz is the host of the Healthier Together podcast, author of the Healthier Together cookbook, and founder of Healthy Convo Co, a game company that facilitates meaningful and life-changing conversations. We've been fans of hers for quite some time (in fact, she wrote one of the first big feature articles on Ground Up for mindbodygreen!) and we are so excited to be bringing her dream flavor to life. 

Tell us a little about you!

I’m a bestselling author, longtime journalist, and host of the Healthier Together podcast, a research-backed wellness podcast all about helping you live your healthiest, happiest life. Each week, I sit down with some of the world's best functional doctors, researchers, authors, journalists and various other leaders in their field to answer all of the health and wellness questions you want to know. I live nomadically with my husband Zack and my cat Bella, and love adventures of any kind, especially hiking and discovering hot springs. 

What do you do for work? Tell us about your professional journey.

Before becoming a full time content creator, I was a journalist for over a decade, writing for publications like goop, Glamour, and Marie Claire and eventually running the food section at mindbodygreen. In addition to the podcast and my social channels, I run a conversation games company called Healthy Convo Co with my husband Zack, where we make conversation card games to get to know your family, friends, partner, officemates, and everyone in between!

How do you stay motivated?

It really motivates me to share the tiny tweaks that people can use to make a huge difference in their lives, that wellness should make your life better not worse, which is what I do through the podcast and on social media. When I get messages from people in my community telling me the advice from my podcast and social media helped them to live a happier, healthier life, I find it wildly motivating. 

Do you have any advice for someone who is interested in starting a business?

Have a really strong sense of why—is there a space in the market that you’re seeing? Is there a strong personal passion that you can validate with market interest? I interviewed the editor in chief of Entrepreneur Magazine, Jason Feifer, on my podcast and I loved his advice to validate market interest before you actually start up a business. We can all have great ideas, but we should test to make sure people are responsive before we put resources into it. I would also say to experiment in small ways to make sure your business is viable instead of getting bogged down by some big final product. 

What are your favorite ways to #spreadgood in your community?

I love to elevate and make accessible all of the amazing resources and information that I can on my podcast so that everyone can benefit from it, no matter who they are and where they are. This way, I get to spread the best, most actionable ways to live a healthier life in the confusing world of health and wellness. 

Who is one person who inspires you and why?

My aunt Joan. I actually did a podcast episode with Dr. Becca Levy who said we can add 7.5 years to our lives by having positive aging beliefs. My aunt Joan made a complete career change later in life to fight climate change through her company, and I find it really inspiring that life at any stage can be full of possibilities, potential, and the ability to change the world. Shout out to her amazing company, Blue Ocean Barns!

How do you work to stay centered and practice self-care in your busy day-to-day reality?

Instead of looking for one big moment of self care—which I often don’t end up having time for—I look for little micro moments. I’ll make a cup of tea and get the benefits of the herbs and the ritual. I’ll take a micro walk for the blood sugar balancing benefits. I’ll do a 10 minute meditation in between meetings or have a great conversation with my partner. These little moments make every day more special. 

What do you like to do for fun, when you aren't working?

My husband and I live nomadically and we love to have adventures in whatever our hometown at the moment is—hiking, eating delicious food, meeting local people, etc. I’m also a hot spring superfan and love a good outdoor soak. 

What are some of your favorite recipes with Ground Up?

My famous Best Healthy Cookies and I love using Ground Up to make tons of different flavor profiles. It instantly makes them taste super interesting and gourmet. My favorite of course is my strawberry and black pepper one.